📋 Templates & Examples Guide

Transform AI Output into Professional Documentation

This guide will teach you how to effectively use templates and examples to format your AI-generated content into professional, team-ready documentation. Learn how to maintain consistency while adapting to your team's specific needs.

---

🎯 Understanding Templates and Examples

What Are Templates?

Templates are structured formats that ensure consistency across your team's documentation. They provide:

• Standardized Structure: Consistent sections and formatting
• Quality Assurance: Built-in quality checks and requirements
• Team Alignment: Common language and expectations
• Efficiency: Faster creation and review processes

What Are Examples?

Examples are proven, real-world implementations that show:

• Best Practices: How to apply templates effectively
• Quality Standards: What excellent output looks like
• Domain Adaptation: How to customize for different industries
• Learning Reference: Patterns to follow and avoid

---

🏗️ Template Categories

Core Templates

Specialized Templates

Advanced Templates

---

📝 Template Structure

Standard Template Components

Every template includes these core sections:

TEMPLATE STRUCTURE:
1. Story Title
2. User Story Format
3. Context Information
4. Acceptance Criteria
5. Technical Considerations
6. Dependencies
7. Estimation
8. Definition of Done

Advanced Template Sections

Some templates include additional sections:

• Design Specifications - Visual and UX requirements
• Testing Requirements - Test cases and scenarios
• Business Value - ROI and impact metrics
• Success Metrics - How to measure success
• Risk Assessment - Potential challenges
• Stakeholder Information - Who's involved

---

🎨 Using Templates Effectively

Step 1: Choose the Right Template

Select based on your story type:

DECISION TREE:
Is this a new feature? → Feature Story Template
Is this fixing a bug? → Bug Fix Template
Is this a large initiative? → Epic Template
Is this backend work? → API Story Template
Is this frontend work? → UI Component Template

Step 2: Load the Template

1. Copy the template structure
2. Paste into your preferred tool
3. Review all sections
4. Understand the requirements

Step 3: Fill with AI-Generated Content

1. Use AI prompts to generate content
2. Map AI output to template sections
3. Fill in all required fields
4. Ensure completeness

Step 4: Customize for Your Team

1. Adjust terminology
2. Add team-specific sections
3. Modify formatting preferences
4. Include organizational requirements

---

📊 Working with Examples

How to Use Examples

Examples serve multiple purposes:

1. Learning Reference: See how templates are applied
2. Quality Benchmark: Understand excellence standards
3. Customization Guide: Learn adaptation techniques
4. Team Training: Show team members what to expect

Example Categories

The toolkit provides examples across:

• Industries: Healthcare, finance, e-commerce, SaaS
• Story Types: Features, bugs, epics, APIs, UI components
• Complexity Levels: Simple, moderate, complex
• Domains: Frontend, backend, DevOps, security

Learning from Examples

When reviewing examples, focus on:

• Structure: How sections are organized
• Content Quality: What makes content excellent
• Completeness: What's included and why
• Customization: How examples adapt to different contexts

---

🔄 Template Customization

Basic Customization

Adapt templates for your team:

CUSTOMIZATION CHECKLIST:
□ Adjust terminology to match your organization
□ Add/remove sections as needed
□ Modify formatting preferences
□ Include team-specific requirements
□ Set quality standards

Advanced Customization

Create specialized templates:

1. Domain-Specific: Healthcare, finance, e-commerce
2. Team-Specific: Frontend, backend, DevOps
3. Process-Specific: Scrum, Kanban, SAFe
4. Tool-Specific: Jira, Azure DevOps, Linear

Customization Examples

Healthcare Domain Template

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS:
- HIPAA Compliance Requirements
- Security Considerations
- Audit Trail Requirements
- Patient Privacy Protections

E-commerce Domain Template

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS:
- Payment Processing Requirements
- Performance Considerations
- Scalability Requirements
- Security Requirements

---

🎯 Quality Assurance

Template Quality Checklist

Review every template application:

QUALITY CHECKLIST:
□ All required sections completed
□ Content matches template structure
□ Terminology consistent with team standards
□ Quality standards met
□ Stakeholder requirements included
□ Technical considerations addressed
□ Dependencies identified
□ Estimation completed

Example Quality Standards

Learn from high-quality examples:

• Completeness: All sections filled appropriately
• Clarity: Clear, unambiguous language
• Specificity: Specific, actionable requirements
• Consistency: Consistent formatting and terminology
• Relevance: Content relevant to the story type

---

🔧 Template Integration

Tool Integration

Integrate templates with your tools:

Jira Integration

JIRA TEMPLATE MAPPING:
- Story Title → Summary
- User Story → Description
- Acceptance Criteria → Acceptance Criteria
- Technical Considerations → Technical Notes
- Estimation → Story Points

Azure DevOps Integration

AZURE DEVOPS MAPPING:
- Story Title → Title
- User Story → Description
- Acceptance Criteria → Acceptance Criteria
- Technical Considerations → Technical Notes
- Estimation → Effort

Workflow Integration

Integrate templates into your workflow:

1. Planning: Use templates during sprint planning
2. Creation: Apply templates when creating stories
3. Review: Use templates for story review
4. Implementation: Reference templates during development

---

📈 Measuring Template Effectiveness

Key Metrics

Track these to improve template usage:

• Consistency Score: How consistent are your stories?
• Completion Rate: How often are all sections filled?
• Quality Score: Rate stories 1-10 for completeness
• Team Satisfaction: What do team members think?
• Time to Create: How long does story creation take?

Improvement Strategies

1. Template Refinement: Update templates based on feedback
2. Training: Ensure team members understand templates
3. Quality Gates: Implement quality checks
4. Continuous Improvement: Regular template updates

---

🚨 Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: Templates Too Rigid

Problem: Templates don't fit all scenarios Solution: Create flexible templates with optional sections

Issue: Team Resists Templates

Problem: Team members don't want to use templates Solution: Show value through examples and training

Issue: Inconsistent Application

Problem: Templates applied differently across team Solution: Provide training and quality checks

Issue: Templates Outdated

Problem: Templates don't reflect current needs Solution: Regular template review and updates

---

🎯 Best Practices Summary

Template Best Practices

• ✅ Choose the right template for each story type
• ✅ Customize templates for your team's needs
• ✅ Use examples to learn and improve
• ✅ Maintain consistency across all stories
• ✅ Regular template review and updates
• ✅ Train team members on template usage

Example Best Practices

• ✅ Study examples from your industry
• ✅ Learn from high-quality examples
• ✅ Adapt examples to your context
• ✅ Use examples for team training
• ✅ Create your own examples
• ✅ Share examples with the community

---

🚀 Advanced Techniques

Template Chaining

Use multiple templates together:

TEMPLATE CHAINING EXAMPLE:
1. Epic Template → Break down large initiative
2. Feature Story Template → Create individual stories
3. Bug Fix Template → Address issues found
4. Technical Debt Template → Handle refactoring

Dynamic Templates

Create templates that adapt to context:

DYNAMIC TEMPLATE FEATURES:
- Conditional sections based on story type
- Automatic field population from context
- Quality checks built into template
- Integration with team tools

Template Automation

Automate template application:

1. AI Integration: Use AI to fill templates
2. Tool Integration: Automatic template loading
3. Quality Checks: Automated quality validation
4. Workflow Integration: Seamless process integration

---

🎉 Mastery Achievement

You now understand how to:

• Choose the right template for any scenario
• Apply templates effectively
• Customize templates for your team
• Learn from examples
• Integrate templates with your tools
• Measure and improve template effectiveness

Ready for the next level? Continue to the Advanced Workflows Guide to learn how to combine templates, prompts, and examples into powerful multi-step workflows.

---

📚 Additional Resources

Learn More

• Getting Started Guide - Begin your journey
• AI Prompt Usage Guide - Master AI prompts
• Advanced Workflows Guide - Unlock advanced capabilities
• Troubleshooting Guide - Solve any issues

Practice Exercises

1. Template Application: Apply different templates to the same story
2. Customization: Create a custom template for your team
3. Example Analysis: Study examples and identify best practices
4. Quality Review: Review stories using template quality checklist

---

Remember: Templates and examples are tools to enhance your creativity, not limit it. Use them to create better stories faster! 🚀